Asking for explanation of a paper?

A few months ago I asked a question about asking very specific questions about a paper. Now, I would really like to ask for a general overview and explanation of the main ideas of an entire paper.

Since I think it is relevant, let me mention the paper in question. I am trying to read Lawvere's Categories of space and quantity. This paper does not contain a single formula or mathematical symbol (except maybe two or three numbers). It is (in my opinion) extremely terse both in language and mathematical content. On the other hand, the bits of it I can understand are fascinating.

Now, I really don't think posting dozens of questions about specific sentences from the paper makes much sense, especially since many of them are in a sense philosophical, and at the very least answers would be opinion based. I do however feel that an expert could (if inclined) explain what Lawvere is trying to say in a couple of paragraphs - especially the philosophical gist of things.

Is it okay to ask something like "what is the essence of this article by Lawvere?" on MO?

• I think a question asking for the explanation of an entire paper is rather not suitable for the format of this site. – Stefan Kohl May 29 '16 at 22:49
• I'm not sure I've ever set eyes on that paper (I might have, but reading Lawvere generally takes persistence and effort and I don't think I've spent any real time on it). Your meta question is a little tricky from a precedent-setting perspective: I can tell that you are serious, but there is potential for abuse if it were coming from a different type of learner. I almost want to suggest that you try your luck at the nForum instead. There's a good chance that someone like Urs Schreiber has spent some time on it. – Todd Trimble May 29 '16 at 22:50
• @ToddTrimble I've never used the nForum before, and I'm low level, so I feel my inputs would be almost spam there. Would it be reasonable to send Urs Schreiber a polite email? – Arrow May 30 '16 at 8:26
• Did you look at the page ncatlab.org/nlab/show/space+and+quantity, or the paper emis.de/journals/TAC/reprints/articles/8/tr8.pdf? The former describes the latter as "a kind of review" of "Categories of space and quantity" – Neil Strickland May 30 '16 at 8:41
• @NeilStrickland I tried reader the latter a while ago without much success. I'll try agani. Thanks. – Arrow May 30 '16 at 9:12
• I assure you that your honest questions at the nForum would be welcomed, especially any that you can formulate in response to reading the nLab page that Neil mentioned. The nLab is (in principle) meant to be readable for a very general audience, and feedback on what people find hard to read is useful (and very far from spam). You could try writing Urs privately as well; if you do, consider giving him permission to quote from your email at the nForum. Finally, we're all human beings here, trying to learn from each other. – Todd Trimble May 30 '16 at 14:40
• "what is the essence of this article by Lawvere?" I don't know, but shouldn't this type of request usually be answered by looking at reviews, e.g. on Mathematical Reviews (MathSciNet) or zbMATH (Zentralblatt)? – Earthliŋ Jun 7 '16 at 20:24

If it were possible to summarize a paper so briefly, chances are someone has already done it.

I see your question in part as asking for a royal road to understanding, and in part as asking for a Readers Digest version of the paper. In truth, Lawvere wrote the paper for other purposes, and probably has a lot of ideas to communicate which are not summarized without major mental effort. If they are, some editorial choices have to be made, and usually people do not volunteer to make such choices for you.